Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is shown during the swearing-in ceremony for Assembly members at the Capitol in Madison, Wis.(Photo: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

MADISON - Assembly Speaker Robin Vos continues to fight efforts that would require him to answer questions about lawmakers' intentions in a lawsuit challenging legislative boundaries drawn in 2011 that help Republicans win elections.

Vos has appealed a federal court ruling requiring him to testify and turn over documents related to the map-drawing process while the three-judge panel has rejected his request to put its ruling on hold in the meantime.

Attorneys for Vos argued "the Speaker should not be distracted from his duties to the people of Wisconsin by being required to testify until he has had an opportunity to fully litigate his claims of legislative privilege," which means lawmakers are immune from civil litigation under Wisconsin's constitution.

Republicans and Democrats have been fighting over the election maps for eight years, ever since Republicans used their control of state government to establish legislative boundaries that helped them keep their majorities.

In the latest feud, Democratic voters who sued over the maps sought to depose Vos, of Rochester.

Vos' attorneys also argued he would be "irreparably injured" if the court did not put its ruling on hold because Democratic plaintiffs have argued if Vos does not produce documents or testify by the end of the month, he will be in contempt of court.

"He will either have to face contempt proceedings or submit to discovery despite his claims of legislative immunity," Vos' attorneys wrote. "Neither of these harms can be undone."

But the three-judge panel denied Vos' request.

"Unless and until the Supreme Court tells us that plaintiffs’ case is doomed, we must decide this case with special urgency," two of the three judges wrote in its order Monday.

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says that the legislature is the most important branch of state government.
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Democratic plaintiffs are seeking communication between Vos and Republican National Committee members working with Republican lawmakers in 2010 on drawing legislative maps, including top mapmaker, Tom Hofeller, who died in 2018.

The plaintiffs also want emails concerning analyses and data used by lawmakers and any communication detailing the objectives or motives of lawmakers in drawing the 2011 maps.

In a 2-1 decision released May 3, federal judges concluded Vos had to hand over documents and answer questions.

"We acknowledge that a sitting legislator is not subject to civil process in any but the most exceptional circumstances. But this is an exceptional case that raises important federal questions about the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s plan for electing members of the Assembly," the majority wrote.

"Vos was a key figure in enacting that plan and he was involved at nearly every stage of the process. Probably no one has a better understanding of the challenged (redistricting) plan than he does."

The court's majority rejected Vos' argument because of the seriousness of the legal fight and because information Vos has about lawmakers' intentions "is not only relevant but also necessary" to the case.

In his dissent, Judge William Griesbach contended Vos should have been granted immunity because the case is about partisan gerrymandering — "a practice that is older than the Republic" — rather than acts that courts have found to be illegal.

Contact Molly Beck in the Capitol bureau at (608) 258-2263 or at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.

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